Sisters, and former CHS hoops stars, Katie Smith (left) and Kassie (Lawson) O’Neil.
O’Neil (second from left) and her fellow seniors in 2009.
Killer Kassie strikes again.
Where were you 2,886 days ago?
She might not remember it now, but Kassie (Lawson) O’Neil spent the night of Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009 heating up like a microwave.
In an eight-minute span during the fourth quarter, in a game against visiting Granite Falls that was ultimately decided by just two points, the Coupeville High School star went off for 13 of her team-high 19 points.
Why is that so special?
Because, during a period where she played with two of the best to ever wear the CHS uniform — Megan Smith and Ashley Manker — and when the Wolves faced off twice a year with South Whidbey’s otherworldly Lindsey Newman, O’Neil’s explosion sits as the best one-quarter performance in the books.
I have CHS girls’ basketball books from 2007-2010, and while Newman torched Coupeville for 39 and 33 and Smith waxed Friday Harbor for 30, neither one reached higher than 12 in a single quarter.
But there’s Kassie, a team captain who went on to play college ball before marriage and starting her own pack of future basketball-playing sons, holding down the top spot.
Her biggest single moment is the night she banked in a three-ball at the buzzer in overtime to upend highly-ranked King’s, but her work in the fourth against Granite Falls is a nice back-up exhibit.
Coupeville had jumped out to a 10-8 lead after one, stretched it to 24-15 at halftime, then hit a rough spot in the third.
Despite buckets from Mandi Murdy and O’Neil, the Wolves were outscored 14-4 and trailed 29-28 heading into the final eight minutes.
At that point, Smith topped the Wolves with 12 points, while O’Neil had six (she had a bucket in every quarter) and Murdy five.
Cue the offensive explosion, as the two squads, which had scored 57 points combined through three, went off for 43 in a wild fourth.
Granite Falls would escape with a 51-49 win, and it was a bit of a heart-breaker, as the Tigers scored at the buzzer to avoid overtime.
It was a barn-burner, though, as Coupeville rode O’Neil’s hot shooting to a 10-point lead, only to surrender a 12-1 run by Granite at the end.
Audrey Murphy, who poured in a game-high 26 for Granite, hit for nine down the stretch, including the game winner, while Coupeville got fourth quarter points from Katie Smith, Jesse Caselden, Murdy, Megan Smith and, of course, O’Neil.
She went off right from the start, drilling a three-point bomb.
Then came a pair of buckets, a free throw, another bucket and then a final trey to cap O’Neil’s whirlwind quarter.
The three-ball, which rattled home with just 18 ticks left on the clock, knotted the game at 49.
Win or lose, O’Neil’s dominance in the spotlight remains one of the more memorable nights in Wolf hoops history.
Plus, performances like that will enable her sons to one day turn to their own teammates and say, “I want to play like my mom. She was a freakin’ rock star!”
Coupeville Sports 